Four Spurs will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 12. Being inducted are Gregg Popovich, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Becky Hammon. They join 13 other Spurs who are already in the Hall of Fame, including Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and David Robinson.
Gregg Popovich
Gregg Popovich will enter the NBA Hall of Fame despite still being the active Spurs’ head coach.
He became the head coach in San Antonio in 1996. 27 years later, he is the NBA’s all-time coaching win leader with 1,366 and a five-time NBA Champion.
Coach Pop is undoubtedly one of the best coaches ever and is well deserving of being in the Hall of Fame.
Tony Parker
Tony Parker was drafted 18th overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Spurs. 18 years later, he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Parker played 18 years in the NBA. 17 seasons in San Antonio and one season with the Charlotte Hornets. He is a four-time NBA Champion, four-time All-NBA selection and a six-time All Star.
He won Finals MVP in the 2006-07 NBA Finals in the Spurs’ sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers. With the Finals MVP, Parker became the second foreign player to earn this accolade, the other being Hakeem Olajuwon.
T.P. averaged 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in his 18 year career. He is the best point guard in Spurs’ history and will forever be in the Hall of Fame.
Pau Gasol
Pau Gasol spent just three seasons with San Antonio from 2016 to 2019. He is most well-known for winning two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, but Pau had a huge impact on San Antonio.
Taken third overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Hawks, Gasol was traded to the Grizzlies on Draft night. He spent his first six seasons in Memphis before being traded to the Lakers in 2008. This trade saw him go to the Lakers, who sent his brother Marc Gasol to the Grizzlies.
He spent seven years in Los Angeles, winning two championships along side Kobe Bryant. He then played two seasons in Chicago, three in San Antonio and one in Milwaukee.
Gasol was a six-time all star who averaged 17 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists over his 18 year career.
Becky Hammon
Becky Hammon played 16 seasons in the WNBA. She was signed by the New York Liberty in 1999 after going undrafted. Hammon then spent eight seasons in New York before joining the San Antonio Stars, now the Las Vegas Aces. She played eight seasons in San Antonio.
Over her WNBA career, she was a six-time all-star and averaged 13 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
After her WNBA career, Hammon joined the Spurs as the first female coach in NBA history in 2014. She led the Spurs to a Summer League Championship in 2015. She served as the Spurs’ head coach whenever Popovich was absent from a game or ejected.
Hammon left the Spurs to coach the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA in 2022. She would lead the Aces to their first WNBA title in her first season. The Aces are the favorites to repeat as champions this season as they have the best record in the WNBA.
Hammon was an underdog her whole career. From going undrafted to being named to the WNBA’s 15th, 20th and 25th anniversary teams to becoming the first female coach in NBA history. Hammon broke barriers for women to enter coaching in not only the NBA, but also other sports such as the NFL and MLB.
These four former and current Spurs will join Dirk Nowitzki and Dwayne Wade in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12. You can watch the induction ceremony on NBA TV on August 12 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Stay tuned for more NBA content including news from every team.
Featured image courtesy of NBA.com.
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